I know some people are wondering how do local police departments have military weapons, tanks, and other war ready equipment. This has always been at the root police departments founded as slave patrols but expanded drastically in 1997 under Clinton. (Thread)

President Clinton signed a bill establishing the 1033 program (Democrat and Republican support), which allowed for the transfer of military grade weapons and equipment from the Pentagon to local police departments.

From 1997 until 2014, $5.1 billion in military hardware were transferred from the Department of Defense to local law enforcement agencies. This included some of the following: armored tanks, high grade rifles, helicopters, grenade launchers, robotic bombs, etc.

The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan led by Bush spent trillions of dollars on guns, bombs and other weapons of war. Many of this unused equipment is now in the hands of police departments across the U.S. under the 1033 program

“By 2014, the year that Michael Brown was shot down - Obama was sending three quarters of a billion dollars, more than $787 million a year, in battlefield weaponry to local police departments.” - Glen Ford

“In other words, Obama oversaw a 24-fold (2,400%) increase in the militarization of local police between 2008 and 2014. Even with the scale-back announced in 2015, Obama still managed to transfer a $459 million arsenal to the cops.”

In 2014, there was an amendment presented in Congress that would have ended the 1033 program. The amendment overwhelmingly failed, and just seven out of 41 voting members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) supported it. Bipartisan Betrayal.

Where are we today? Trump has the largest military budget in United States History and has made it easier for local police departments to receive military equipment even shipping it Free.

The militarization of police departments was/is a bipartisan effort (Republicans and Democrats) that we have to Demand and Fight to end! Abolish militarization, Abolish police.